UDIA Welcomes Prime Minister’s announcement of the new Cabinet
UDIA WA welcomes the Prime Minister’s announcement of his new Cabinet in the wake of Labor’s Federal election win.
We congratulate Hon. Clare O’Neil for her reappointment as Minister for Housing, and Homelessness and for her new appointment as Minister for Cities. By placing these portfolios together, the government is positioned to strengthen the delivery of their housing commitments. We would like to also congratulate Hon. Murray Watt on his appointment as the Minister for the Environment and Water.
We look forward to supporting UDIA National in their work with the Government as they implement their policy commitments to create the much-needed homes for Australians across the nation.
“UDIA is supportive of Government’s policy commitments as they align with our Federal Election Policy Platform, Fast Tracking Housing delivery. We called for a commitment to boost enabling infrastructure, provide upfront Accord Bonus incentives to fast-track delivery of housing and expand the skilled workforce to build homes and we are keen to see these being adopted as policy,” said Col Dutton, UDIA National President.
The hard work continues for the Albanese Government to focus on supply of homes for all Australians through the National Housing Accord, the Housing Australia Future Fund and delivery of 100,000 first home buyer dwellings.
“We hope the government will look closely at incentivising states and territories to boost supply of development ready land and streamline planning approvals that will promote housing affordability,” Mr Dutton said.
“UDIA looks forward to continuing our work with the Ministers in the re-elected Albanese Government and using our significant industry insight to assist policy reform that combats the affordability crisis and helps all Australian’s find a home of their own.”
First Home Buyers grow market share
Last week, the latest Urban Development Index covering the performance of the West Australian greenfield residential land market for March 2025 was sent to our members.
This edition has seen that lot sales for Metro Perth continue to moderate, and are down 7.5% in the March 2025 quarter, and down 31% on 12 months earlier. In contrast to the decline in sales, average lot prices continue to grow solidly with 6.8% growth over the March quarter to $363,090 highlighting the constraint on housing supply across WA.
The proportion of investor activity continued to reduce this quarter while First Home Buyer volumes moved upwards to a new high of 40% market share.
This edition also features an article from Urbis Director Tim Connoley, breaking down sales figures across the Perth Metropolitan Region.
For all of the results for the March quarter, read the latest UDI
Western Power – Network data at your fingertips
Western Power has advised that accessing network information for electrical designs is now quicker and easier.
The new Network Information Tool, now available through MyWP Projects, streamlines parts of the Design Information Package (DIP) process for land development projects–helping you accelerate applications and bring housing to market faster.
What’s new?
Registered developers and consultants can self-serve essential network data, including:
- Low voltage and high voltage network details
- GIS network data for the project’s location
- Streetlight information
- CAD extracts and PDF maps
Need local network knowledge? You can also request manual insights, which Western Power will compile and share separately. All data is delivered in a format designed to integrate seamlessly with Western Power applications.
How it can help you
The Network Information Tool builds on Western Power’s previous DIP improvements, which introduced self-service capability and reduced the DIP stage timeframes from an average of nine months to about one month. This latest upgrade gives you even more control, helping you:
- speed up network feasibility assessments
- access critical data on demand
- reduce project lead times.
What’s next?
Western Power are still working on the tool, with features such as self-service network load impact checks, fault level and protection settings in development.
How to get started
If you’re already registered for MyWP Projects, simply log in to start using the tool.
New to MyWP Projects? Register now by clicking the link below to access the Network Information Tool and other essential project management features.
MyWP Projects: https://www.mywpprojects.westernpower.com.au/
Consultation for Perth Entertainment and Sports Precinct now open
Community and stakeholder consultation has now opened for the WA Government’s new entertainment and sports precinct. Set to be built in Burswood Park, the precinct is part of Labor’s re-election commitment to diversify WA’s economy.
The project aims to deliver a major hub for entertainment, sport, culture and art in Burswood Park. The concept design includes a new outdoor amphitheatre for major live music events, and a new multi-use track and multi-purpose building to support a wide range of sporting and music events. The new precinct would also seek to alleviate transportation constraints to and from Optus Stadium.
Premier Roger Cook said, “this precinct presents Western Australia with the opportunity to position Perth as one of the major event capitals of the South East Asian region.”
Initial community consultation will close in June, with drop-in forums and community feedback sessions to be held over the coming months.
“The consultation process is an opportunity for everyone in the community to have their say on how this new precinct will be developed, said Victoria Park MLA Hannah Beazley.
The state government has committed $217.5 million to create the Perth Entertainment and Sporting Precinct.
For more information, and to have your say visit: https://www.pesp.wa.gov.au/
New bridge and roads to help unlock major housing development
A $30 million works package linking Burswood to Belmont Park has been completed. Part of the $3.8 billion Burswood Point redevelopment, the works included a new pedestrian bridge over Graham Farmer Fwy alongside Victoria Park drive. The new bridge enabled the addition of a new southbound traffic land to Victoria Park Drive bridge.
“These upgrades will accommodate growing traffic numbers, and the increased pedestrian and cyclist volumes anticipated to arise from this transformational project,” said Transport Minister Rita Saffioti.
Additionally, the new road Seabiscuit Drive was constructed providing access to Belmont Park from Victoria Park Drive. Other improvements include the installation of safety barriers, upgrades to lighting and drainages, and modifications to traffic signals.
Building Approvals, March 2025
Figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) for the month of March show that total dwellings approved fell 8.8% to 15,200. Private sector housing dropped to 8,804 – a reduction of 4.5%. Private sector dwellings excluding houses fell 15.1% to 6,104 buildings.
Despite a month-on-month drop in approvals, total dwellings approved are up 13.4% year-on-year driven by a seasonally adjusted yoy increase of 47% in private sector dwellings excluding houses.
In Western Australia, approvals for private sector houses rose 10.3% from February to 1,579. However, total dwellings approved for the month were down 20.5%, falling to 1,813.